With the opening of the Twelve Mile Branch, it was time
to again look at the needs of the District Library, as the second provision
of the millage proposal mandated. The small library with a capacity for
18,000 volumes, was bursting at the seams, stuffed with 22,000 books.
In June, 1973, a site was chosen, at the corner of State and Liberty Streets
slightly northwest of the old facility. Two of the three lots needed were
owned by the city, which readily approved the sale of the land to the library
for $50,000, retaining the right of first refusal if the Library decided to
sell the land later. The third lot, without which the library could not be
built, was not quite so easy to come by. It was privately owned by Mary Clay,
who had turned down an earlier offer by the library board to purchase the
property. When the city council agreed to sell its parcel of land to the
library, it was asked by the Library Board to help the library acquire the
lot. The council agreed to help, first by offering to buy the land at "fair
market value" after an appraisal, and if that offer was to be rejected, the
council would exercise its legal right of "eminent domain" and take
possession of the land for public (library) use.
The land was acquired by the city in February, 1974, at a cost of $34,000;
it was resold to the library board for $34,900 which included the cost of
acquisition.
With this obstacle out of the way, building of the library progressed
quickly. In June, 1974, plans for the new building were unveiled by the
architectural firm Merritt, Cole and McCallum. Bids were accepted; the
general contract was again awarded to Freeman—Darling of Livonia.
Ground breaking ceremonies were held December 8, 1974.
At this time it was decided that the libraries should have new, more
uniform, names. The libraries became, collectively, The Farmington Community
Library; 'the Public Library became the Farmington Hills Branch, the District
Library was to be the Farmington Branch.
The $825,000 Farmington Branch was dedicated December 7, 1975. The lower
level of the 18,000 square foot structure houses the children's room,
complete with reading tree house donated by the Jaycee Auxiliary, auditorium
and local history room. The upper level is divided into the non-fiction room,
the fiction room, (which offers a lounging area in front of a stone
fireplace), a Quiet Room, furnished by donations by the Friends of the
Library, and a staff work area.
